According to Ukrainian sources, Russia delivered around 14 Su-34 bombers and 10 Su-35S fighters to its military in 2025.
Ukrainian sources report that Russia’s defense industry delivered roughly 14 Su-34 frontline bombers and about 10 Su-35S fighter jets to its armed forces in 2025, expanding Moscow’s tactical aviation fleet as the war enters its fourth year.
According to these assessments, the newly supplied aircraft enable Russia to increase pressure on Ukraine by raising the tempo of guided air-to-ground weapon employment, while also improving air cover for frontline operations. The Su-34, produced by the Sukhoi Design Bureau and operated by the Russian Aerospace Forces, is a twin-engine strike platform used to launch glide bombs and other precision munitions from standoff distances. The Su-35S, meanwhile, remains Russia’s most advanced serially produced air-superiority fighter.
These additions, analysts say, allow Russia to conduct more frequent strikes from inside its own airspace, where Ukrainian forces remain restricted from using partner-supplied missiles. Such limitations have reduced Ukraine’s ability to hit Russian airbases, enabling Moscow to keep more aircraft stationed closer to the front.
The context outlined by Ukrainian experts indicates a shift in Russian aviation losses throughout 2025. Earlier in the war, Russian combat aircraft were primarily destroyed by Ukrainian air defenses or damaged during strikes on Russian airfields. Open-source group Oryx previously reported that Ukraine had destroyed “at least 41 Su-34 and 8 Su-35S” since the full-scale invasion began, with most of those losses occurring in the initial phases of the conflict.
However, Ukrainian sources now state that Russian losses in 2025 are mostly non-combat, driven by mechanical failures, maintenance issues, and pilot error. Analysts attribute this trend to two intersecting factors: Russia’s increased reliance on long-range guided aviation weapons, which reduces exposure to Ukrainian air defenses, and external restrictions on Ukraine’s use of partner-supplied missiles against Russian bases. These conditions help Russia preserve more aircraft from Ukrainian fire, while simultaneously exposing internal readiness and training problems within Russian aviation units.
Russia’s ability to field new Su-34 and Su-35S aircraft at this scale suggests that its defense industry still retains the capacity to replace losses, even if many airframes reportedly incorporate simplified or downgraded subsystems due to sanctions. Nonetheless, the additional aircraft expand Russia’s potential strike volume and air-cover capability, particularly along sectors where glide bombs have become a decisive battlefield tool.
The 2025 deliveries have enabled Russia to intensify its use of guided aircraft munitions against Ukrainian troop concentrations, logistics hubs, and fortified positions, with Ukrainian units across multiple sectors reporting continued bombardment by glide bombs launched from Su-34s operating beyond the reach of Ukrainian air-defense systems.
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